FOREST FARMS
Forest Farms is a business model for greening the desert. Local people earn their living while planting arid zones, selling fodder and enhancing local living conditions. We need your help to upscale this initiative into a worldwide franchise formula.
The start
In 2018, we've started fencing a plot of Indian desert and planted trees under the name of 'Ourcolorisgreen', to make the Thar desert greener and help the farmers. We found out that the trees were doing well and that it is possible to have grass grown on the plot, that can be used commercially. Two local entrepreneurs are willing to set up the first Forest Farm with us. We're ready to go!
The expansion
Meanwhile, we found two other districts in the Thar desert that would be perfect for a Forest Farm. The regional market is big enough for three to five farms. The farmers could exchange experience, and joint operations could lead to purchase advantages. Biosfera will take the lead in this, by designing a social franchise formula that can be rolled out globally.
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REMIT & RECOVER
With Forest Farms we make a combination of two programs of Biosfera Foundation, designed for rural areas.
RECOVER is a combination of methods and solution packages for reforestation, soil recovery, and water retention.
REMIT’s goal is to restore and preserve ecosystems, creating an incentive for villagers to stay put instead of migrating towards the cities.
A multiplier factor on impact
1 A profit for nature - More than 1.2 trillion hectares of land have already been withered. This process is ongoing, with a massive effect on climate change: the soil is eroding, biodiversity is decreasing, less CO2 can be stored due to loss of vegetation, remaining plant residues are oxidized, and CO2 is rereleased. Forest Farms is a way of reversing this trend in inhabited arid zones.
2 A profit for humans - People in arid areas first flee to places where there’s still drinking water. However, in dry regions, the soil is susceptible to overgrazing. While the desert expands, farmers become semi-nomadic (shepherds). Children don't go to school. Forest Farms will lead to local improvements, jobs, ánd support for women to participate. By doing so, the living conditions of families will improve.
3 A halt to rural-urban migration - Poverty and the lack of future improvement lead inevitably to urban migration, where the city's ecosystems already collapse under the population's pressure. We must take measures to reduce this trend and Forest Farms is doing that.
Accelerating the SGDs
Forest Farms is intended to become a social franchise formula. We offer farmers a soft loan and offer al the needed support. By attracting funds, we stimulate Forest Farms to expand. Repaid loans will be reinvested. This is what we call: accelerating the Sustainable Development Goals. With Forest Farms we have an impact on SDG 1 No hunger, 5 Gender equality, 6 Clean water, 8 Decent work, 13 Climate action, 15 Life on Land, 17 Partnerships for the goals.
Here's a list of United Nations SDGs
TUPIX ® inside - As an environmentally or socially involved sponsor, you want to spend your money where the impact is. Forest Farms will be monitored and managed by TUPIX ®: Biosfera's advanced operating system for ecosystems. You'll be able to see and evaluate the generated impact with your own eyes.
Invest in people to green the desert
We look for funds to finance local people. They can make greening the desert their business. By paying back the soft loan, the money will be re-used for others to start.